


A Curse From You

by summerdownturn



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - No Band, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, JOSH IS AN ASSHOLE, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tyler is just trying his best, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-07-23 15:23:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16161617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerdownturn/pseuds/summerdownturn
Summary: Tyler wakes up with a burning sensation on his arm. It itches and stings, and it take a few times to get a good look at it because his eyes are blurry from sleep. He rubs his eyes, and looks again.A soul-mark has etched its way onto his forearm, and Tyler is dumbfounded and frankly offended at the words he finds there.“Hey man, fuck you,” is scrawled on his arm in all capitals, handwritten. Tyler’s heart stops for a moment, probably because he forgets to breathe, and he runs into the bathroom to wash it off. This has got to be a prank, right?The words stick, tattooed on his arm permanently.“Shit."





	1. "Ope, sorry."

**Author's Note:**

> So there's a thing, kinda like fight club, that I can't talk about but it has me writing like every week now, and this was one of the prompt ficlets that turned into a full on fic. And I love it. So. Much. I hope you love it too <3

He’s at a bar when it happens. Of course. Tyler hates bars. He’s not a drinker, and he hates loud noise. He does like staying up late and hanging around with Mark, though, which is why he’s at this bar in the first place. He’s trying to be Mark’s wingman, because he owes Mark one, but it seems like people are more interested in Tyler.

“This is why I can’t take you anywhere,” Mark says, pouting into his beer. Tyler shrugs, and says nothing. He’s not having a particularly good time. Most of the people here want one-night stands, and that’s something he’s not a fan of either.

He takes a sip of his Coke and looks for an excuse to get out of there. Most of the women in the bar are already paired up, and as much as Tyler wants Mark to hook up with a guy to see what that would look like, Mark isn’t interested.

“I just wanna get laid,” Mark whines, and Tyler claps a hand on his shoulder.

“Why don’t I get you another beer?” Mark nods, and Tyler gets up to head to the bar. Making his way is easy enough, because he can squeeze through people easily, but coming back with a full beer is another thing entirely. Tyler is careful, or at least he tries to be, but when some drunk asshole slams into him from the side, he stills.

Tyler panics, and says the first thing that comes to his mind, which is an apology. “Ope, sorry.”

“Hey man, fuck you,” the guy says, his brows pinched angrily together and glaring at Tyler something fierce. Tyler realizes that they both are now covered in Mark’s beer, and Tyler has a feeling that he can’t drive home that night for fear of getting pulled over.

The guy is obviously drunk, swaying on his feet and eyes glassy. The last thing Tyler needs is a drunk’s anger directed at him.

“Sorry, man,” Tyler tries again, like it wasn’t this guy’s fault in the first place, and the man scoffs and stumbles away, thankfully. Tyler lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and decides not to go back to the bar. Instead, he goes back to the table housing a tipsy Mark and an empty glass. “Time to go,” Tyler says, and Mark sighs before standing up and agreeing.

Tyler does drive home, though he makes sure to drive the speed limit and keep an eye out for cops. He didn’t need to get pulled over smelling like beer, even if he didn’t drink. They make it back to their apartment safely, and it only takes a half hour before they’re both in bed and passed out.

Tyler wakes up with a burning sensation on his arm. It itches and stings, and it take a few times to get a good look at it because his eyes are blurry from sleep. He rubs his eyes and looks again.

A soul-mark has etched its way onto his forearm, and Tyler is dumbfounded and frankly offended at the words he finds there.

 _“Hey man, fuck you,”_ is scrawled on his arm in all capitals, handwritten. Tyler’s heart stops for a moment, probably because he forgets to breathe, and he runs into the bathroom to wash it off. This has got to be a prank, right?

The words stick, tattooed on his arm permanently.

“Shit,” he curses to himself, looking at his shocked expression in the mirror. He needs to find the drunk from last night. And also, a long sleeve shirt or hoodie, because no way is he letting Mark see this.

Tyler goes back that night and finds the guy easily enough. He’s at the bar nursing a fruity drink, all alone. It’s still rather early. Tyler’s heart aches, and he isn’t sure why.

“Uh,” he starts, nervously going up to the guy. He glances at him like Tyler’s bothering him, and Tyler thinks that this may have been a mistake.

“What do you want?” The guy says, speech still coherent. Tyler’s anxiety spikes, but he goes for it anyway.

“I’m Tyler, and… and…” He’s at a loss for words, unsure of how to bring up the prickling letters on his skin.

“You’re that twink from last night, yeah?” The guy smirks, and Tyler hates that he’s attractive. “I’m Josh.” Suddenly, the guy looks interested in him, and Tyler wonders if he’s being played. He says nothing as he lifts up his hoodie sleeve.

 _“Hey man, fuck you,”_ stares up at Josh, and Josh stares back in confusion.

He almost looks angry, until Tyler backtracks and explains hastily, “Uh, that’s you. That’s what you said to me last night.” Josh, for once, looks serious, and then looks down at his own arm, covered in a tattered black sweater. He lifts up his sleeve and finds a messy scrawl there.

 _“Ope, sorry,”_ is what it says, and Josh looks exasperated.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” Josh stands up suddenly, and rushes for the door.

“Hey, wait!”

The door slamming rings throughout the mostly empty bar.

Tyler ends up showing up again the next night. And then the next. He ends up at the bar each night for a week, but Josh doesn’t show up. Tyler’s thoughts range from thinking that Josh is avoiding him, or that Josh drank himself to death in his own apartment. He hates that he’s so worried about a complete stranger, and one that’s an asshole as well.

The truth ends up being somewhere in the middle of Tyler’s worries, though, as Tyler checks in on the bar after a few days of not going. He ends up running into Josh instead, sitting outside the bar next to a pool of vomit. He kneels down in front of Josh and lolls his head back with his hand to look into his eyes, wondering if the guy was even conscious.

When Josh blinks up at him, he feels relieved.

“Hey, Josh?” Tyler asks, and Josh groans in response. “Okay, we gotta get you off the street, bud.” But Tyler isn’t really sure where he should take Josh. “Where do you live?” He tries, only receiving a wavering point in a direction. That wouldn’t work. “Okay, well, would you like to go to the hospital then?” That is met with wide eyes and a shake of the head that makes Josh groan from the vertigo it gives him. As Josh clutches his head, Tyler can only think of one more option. “My house it is then.”

Tyler ends up calling an Uber, because there’s no way he’s carrying a man that has more muscle mass than he does. The driver gives him a look, and he has to reassure him that he’s just taking his friend home, and that he wouldn’t puke on anything in the car. The guy keeps glaring at him until Tyler hands him a ten-dollar bill.

Josh isn’t awake by the time they get to Tyler’s apartment, but Tyler finds out that he can carry him to the front door at least. He calls down Mark to help him.

“I am going to kill you, Joseph,” is the first thing he says when he sees a sweaty Tyler carrying a passed-out man. “What kind of shit it this?”

“Just help me get him to the couch, please.” Mark is a great friend, and Tyler really doesn’t deserve him, because really, what kind of shit _is_ this? He gives Tyler a look but helps him anyways. He really didn’t deserve Mark, because when they get inside their apartment, Josh throws up on Mark’s shoes.

Tyler gets Josh to the couch by himself after that. He sets him up with a bucket, making sure Josh knows it’s there next to the couch, gets him a blanket and a pillow, and then takes a seat at the kitchen table with his head in his hands.

Mark sits down across from him. “Explain yourself, Joseph.”

“So, his name is Josh.” Tyler starts, but he is unsure if he wants to continue. He does anyway, unable to look Mark in the eye. “And he’s my soulmate.”

Mark laughs so loud it wakes up Josh, who turns over with a groan. “That piece of trash is your soulmate? You really expect me to believe that?” Tyler rolls up his sleeve, and Mark sobers up a bit. “Well that’s fitting, I guess. Dude, you’re gunna have ‘fuck you’ on your arm for the rest of your life,” he snorts.

“I know. I can never show my mom,” Tyler mumbles underneath his breath, before sighing. “What am I going to do?”

“He’s not your problem. Looks like a drunk to me. Why did you bring him here anyway?”

Tyler stares at Mark like the answer is obvious. “Because he’s my soulmate. And he needs help.”

“You care too much,” Mark sighs, looking over at Josh like he’s debating something. “Okay, fine. If he wants help, he can stay here. But Tyler, I know you. If you get too into this… I don’t want you getting hurt.” Tyler nods, unsure if he can promise Mark that, so he says nothing instead.

They head to bed after that, but not before Tyler puts out a bottle of water and some Aspirin on the coffee table for when Josh wakes up.

The next morning, Tyler makes breakfast. It’s the least he can do for Mark, since his soulmate ruined his shoes. He makes eggs and bacon, and toast for Josh when he decides to get up. Sometime last night, Josh drank half of the water bottle and opened the Aspirin, but he was still dead asleep by the time Tyler and Mark got up, which wasn’t early.

They wake up just before noon, and the apartment is silent as Tyler cooks and Mark checks social media on his phone. Josh wakes up when Tyler is sat at the table finishing his bacon. He groans, and Tyler and Mark look over.

“Wha the fuck?” Josh raises his head and looks around, his dark curly hair all over the place. Tyler gets up and brings Josh his toast, placing it on the coffee table. Josh looks up at him, squinting his eyes with a displeased look on his face. “Ugh, not you again. Shit, did we…?” Josh trails off, head falling back down to the pillow with a groan. “Fuck,” comes out muffled.

Tyler huffs, standing up straight and looking down at Josh. “No, we didn’t,” he snaps, already done with this guy’s bullshit for today. He’s already starting to regret trying to help out Josh. Josh hums like he’s dismissing the idea, like he isn’t sure he believes Tyler, and turns his head to find the toast Tyler made for him on the coffee table. Josh is suddenly much more awake at the thought of food, and Tyler watches as the man devours the cooked bread and melted butter. He’s shocked into silence.

“What’s up?” He eventually says, nonchalantly, placing the empty plate back on the table and stretching his arms above his head. Tyler hates how his eyes immediately look for the strip of skin poking out from underneath Josh’s wrinkled shirt.

Tyler sighs, huffing out a quick disbelieving laugh, before replying. “‘What’s up’ is that you’ve been avoiding me for a week, not to sound like a whiny bitch, but you ran off on me after finding out that we’re…” He stops, not wanting to say the word out loud. Josh winces, showing a sign of weakness before recovering and putting on a facade of apathy. Tyler steels himself to prepare for the assholeish response he’s going to get.

“So?” Josh says without his expression changing, just the twitch of an eyebrow. Tyler grows annoyed, despite having prepared for that type of answer.

“So, don’t you think it’s a little important we try to figure this thing out?” He says, gesturing between them.

Josh has the gall to laugh, and Tyler feels offended. “Look, pal, I don’t know what we did last night—”

“We did nothing,” Tyler interrupts, the same time Mark pipes up, “You puked on my shoes,” bitterly across the room. Josh shoots him a glare.

“But I’m not looking for a soulmate. This,” Josh lifts up his arm, showing the scrawl of Tyler’s permanent penmanship, “was a mistake. A fluke. There’s gotta be something wrong here, because I don’t want a soulmate. And for the record,” Josh gets up to stand toe-to-toe with Tyler, “You do sound like a whiny bitch.”

Josh leaves shortly after that. Tyler stands still, looking at the spot where Josh was a couple minutes ago. Mark finally gets the nerve to speak up.

“Fuck that guy,” Mark mumbles, going back to his breakfast before realizing that Tyler is still standing in the center of the room. “Are you okay?”

“What am I supposed to do!?” Tyler shouts, spinning around to look at Mark, looking heartbroken and pissed off.

“Well, he obviously wants nothing to do with you,” he points out, leaving his breakfast alone to turn his full attention onto Tyler. “Also, you didn’t answer my question.”

“No, Mark, I’m not okay.” Tyler groans, shuffling over to the table to sit down across from Mark. He puts his head in his hands and lets out a long whine. “What am I gunna do?” He says softly to himself, rubbing at his eyes, before looking up at Mark. Mark shrugs.

“Forget that he exists?” He suggests, but Tyler scoffs, waving his arm around with the mark on it. “Okay, not likely,” Mark says instead, rolling his eyes and picking at the last bit of eggs on his plate. They sit in silence for a couple minutes, thinking.

“So, how long should I wait before I text him?” Tyler asks, pulling out his phone and glancing up at Mark.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me, right?” Mark deadpans, “This guy wants nothing to do with you, Ty. You’re just gunna get hurt.” Tyler pouts, putting his phone down. “Plus, going through someone else’s phone without their permission is kinda fucked up.”

“I just, got his number and put mine in…” Tyler mumbles, looking up at Mark for a second before shifting his eyes anywhere else, continuing under his breath, “And I also may have went through some texts to get his friend’s number…”

“Tyler! This is fucked up!” Mark finally raises his voice loud enough to make Tyler wince. He looks ashamed for a moment, but then he takes a deep breath and starts speaking calmly.

“Look, I know you don’t have a soulmate. Hell, I didn’t have one until a week ago. You know all the stories, though, Mark. How this one person comes along and changes your life forever. How am I supposed to ignore this? People wait lifetimes for this. And I’m supposed to just forget that he exists?” Mark stays silent, and Tyler sighs. “Her name is Jenna. I don’t know how close they are, but it seems close from the context of their texts. Maybe she wants to help him, too? It seemed like she did in those messages. I don’t know. Tell me this is stupid.”

“It’s stupid, and you shouldn’t do it.” Mark immediately says, but then he gives. “Gimme her number.”


	2. “So, what do you play?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hello?” He greets, fumbling with his phone as it almost slips out of his hand in his haste to answer it.
> 
> “Hi, is this Tyler?” A sweet feminine voice asks, all professional-like and Tyler blanks for a moment before remembering that he indeed is Tyler.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really glad people are liking this! Cuz I really enjoy writing it. Planning on finishing it for NaNoWriMo, but it won't be 50k. Hopefully. Who knows? I'm just using NaNo as an excuse to finish fics I need to finish, so. Hopefully that goes well!

They decide to text Jenna first before contacting Josh. They settle on sending:

_“Hey, this is Tyler, I got your number from Josh. Sorry to be all creepy, but I’m really worried about him and would like to know more, possibly? Feel free to tell me off. Or call to let me know more. Thanks.”_

Mark goes about his business for the rest of the day, but Tyler sits nervously on the couch, glancing at his phone. It finally rings around six in the evening, and Tyler lets out a noise of surprised excitement when he sees Jenna’s name. He answers.

“Hello?” He greets, fumbling with his phone as it almost slips out of his hand in his haste to answer it.

“Hi, is this Tyler?” A sweet feminine voice asks, all professional-like and Tyler blanks for a moment before remembering that he indeed is Tyler.

“Uh, yes. Jenna, right?” He comes up with and makes a face at himself for sounding so dumb.

“Yeah, hi. I got your text. I want to thank you for taking Josh in last night, I was worried sick.” She sounds concerned and thankful, so Tyler takes that as a good sign.

“Oh, no problem. I couldn’t just leave him there, y’know?”

“Yeah, well, Josh knows the type of people that would leave him there, so thank you.”

Tyler isn’t sure how to respond to that, so he just says, “Oh, that’s…shitty.”

“Yeah, it is. So, having someone caring about him for once is nice.” She says this lightly, but Tyler feels like there’s more to the story. He _knows_ that there’s more to the story. He doesn’t dig too deep, though. Not yet. “Speaking of, he tells me you’re soulmates?” She ends in a questioning tone, like she isn’t sure how accurate all of the information she knows is. Tyler affirms it and tells her everything leading up to her friend passing out on his couch last night. “Oh my god, I am so sorry. He can be a lot to deal with.”

“Yeah. But at least he has Midwestern slang on his arm for forever,” Tyler jokes, letting out a chuckle, before remembering he has the words _“fuck you”_ on his.

“If you want, we can meet for a coffee tomorrow to talk some more?” She suggests after a couple beats of silence.

“Yeah, yeah, that sounds good!” They plan on where to meet and at what time, wrapping up the conversation, but Tyler still has something he wants to ask. “Um, before you go, I just need to know: Is Josh alright?”

Tyler waits for a moment in silence as Jenna figures out how to respond. “He’s… okay. For now. He made it home safe, at least. I’ll tell you more tomorrow, okay?” Tyler agrees, and they say goodbye before hanging up. Tyler lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Josh is okay. For at least a little bit, he’s okay.

He texts Mark that he’s meeting Jenna tomorrow to talk about Josh, and then puts his phone down to play a video game for the rest of the night, eager for tomorrow.

The meet in the early afternoon at a coffee shop a couple blocks away from Tyler’s apartment. Jenna’s already there when Tyler walks in the door, and she stands up from a corner table when Tyler looks at her. “Tyler?” She asks, and Tyler offers a small smile and a nod. She is beautiful. Like, take-your-breath-away beautiful. Blonde hair and bright blue eyes, slim frame, and perfect manicured nails. Even though she’s dressed casually in a t-shirt and ripped acid-washed jeans, she makes it look clean and high classed. She greets Tyler with a hug, which surprises him, but he goes along with it because he’s still shocked from her beauty.

“Uh, hi,” he offers as they sit down, and Tyler’s face feels hot. Jenna’s smile is perfect, too.

“Right on time. Would you like something to drink?” She asks, “I waited for you before ordering.”

“Um, sure. Yeah.” They stand back up to place their orders, Tyler getting a black coffee, and Jenna getting something unbearably sweet. Once they get their cups, they sit back down. Jenna looks nervous, for once, hesitant, and it causes Tyler to worry. “What is it?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Just…” She trails off, swiping a lock of hair behind her ear and looking outside the window next to him, before her eyes returned to Tyler’s and then moved down to his left arm. “Can I… see it?” She nods at his covered arm, and Tyler’s eyes widen. “You don’t have to show it, I know it’s personal, I shouldn’t have asked.” She says this in a rush, while Tyler catches up to what she had asked in the first place. He feels two steps behind her at any moment, still in awe of how perfect she was.

“Oh! No, yeah, you can see it.” He slightly interrupts, feeling bad about it for a second, but Jenna looks relieved. He lifts his sleeve, and she marvels at it.

“That’s so like him,” she smiles softly, taking a sip of her coffee while studying the handwriting above the three bands of tattoos on his wrist. Her fingers skip over his skin after she puts her cup down, tracing the lettering. It feels intimate, the skin still sensitive from the fresh mark. “And judging by his mark, that’s so like you from what I’ve seen.” She smirks, and Tyler blushes before chuckling.

“Yeah, it really is.” He ducks his head. They sip their coffee in silence for a moment, both thinking of what to say next, both settling on,

“So,” they say at the same time. They laugh and Tyler gestures to Jenna to go ahead. “So… Josh.” She starts, giving Tyler a look asking if she should continue.

“Josh.” Tyler agrees, nodding his head.

She takes in a deep breath and lets it out in a long sigh. “Where should I start?” She says mostly to herself, fingers dancing along the rim of her coffee cup as she decides. “Okay,” she says after a moment, continuing. “I’ve known Josh for five years. He… wasn’t always like this.” She pauses, and Tyler is sitting on the edge of his seat. “He had a boyfriend when we met. They were _madly_ in love. The only thing was that they weren’t soulmates.”

“Oh,” Tyler says, having an inkling of where this was going.

“Yeah. So, a couple years pass, and they were happy, talking about getting married. Well, then his boyfriend goes to the West Coast for work. He did that every couple of months. This time though, he comes back with a soul-mark.”

“He met his soulmate.” Tyler says, and Jenna nods.

“Josh… didn’t take it well. He knew, deep down, that there was a chance that would happen, I guess he just didn’t realize how much it would hurt him. He hasn’t talked to me about it since it happened. I just know that he started to change and any time I brought up the real problem, he would ignore me, so I stopped asking.” She ends with a little shrug, guilt edging onto her features.

Tyler stays silent for a moment, taking it all in. “How long ago was this?”

“They broke up just over a year ago.”

“So, he’s been like this since then?”

“Yeah.” She says quietly, taking another sip. Her eyes are downcast and glossy, and Tyler feels his chest constrict.

He takes a moment to gather his thoughts, and not wanting to see Jenna upset, he tells her, “Well, I’m here now. I’m not gunna give up on him.” Tyler puffs his chest out a bit and gives her a smile, and she giggles and smiles back.

“Good. I have hope still. It’s just… hard. Nothing has changed in so long.” She solemns up again, but Tyler still counts that small smile as a victory.

“What’s the last thing that has changed?” Tyler says, curious.

“He stopped smoking a couple months ago.”

Tyler perks up. “That’s good!” He says, voice becoming higher. “That means he’s willing to change some things, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

They sit in silence for a couple moments, but it’s comfortable, enough so that Tyler doesn’t feel bad for checking his phone really quick. There’s a text from his mom asking him if he would like to come over next weekend for dinner, and Tyler inwardly panics, but shoves it aside to ask Jenna, “So, what do you think is gunna help Josh the most?”

She gives him a shy smile. “You.” Tyler scoffs, momentarily feeling bad, but Jenna doesn’t take it that way, instead she continues, “No, listen, he needs to move on. How is he supposed to do that when he’s stuck in the past? Maybe I can invite you over soon, so you guys can bond or something. It wouldn’t hurt.”

Tyler thinks it over for a moment, before saying, “Alright. How does next weekend sound?”

Now, Tyler isn’t _exactly_ avoiding his parents, per se, but after his meeting with Jenna, he texts his mom back saying he has plans with a friend, and that he’d call her soon. He loves his mother, but she would absolutely freak out and possibly have a heart attack if he told her that he had met his soulmate. She would instantly invite them over to dinner, expecting to learn all about them. But Tyler has a feeling that if he showed up with someone like Josh, his mother would either be very disappointed, or pity him. And Tyler wants neither of those things. 

He’s also bad at hiding things from her, which is why he didn’t call her like he said he would. Instead, he becomes immensely interested in his work, which also distracts him from the fact that he will see Josh again in a week.

The week goes by too soon, with Tyler avoiding his mom, ignoring her calls and texts, quickly replying, _I’m fine, just busy._ And when he isn’t working on backing tracks for some local bands, he is cleaning the apartment, which he never did. So yeah, he’s a little nervous.

“ _Tomorrow_ , Mark. I’m going to see him again _tomorrow_.” Tyler emphasizes as he folds his laundry. Yeah, folding laundry is a new one, too, and it’s freaking him out.

“I don’t know why you care so much, when he obviously doesn’t. Does he even know that you’re coming over?” Mark says from across the apartment, editing videos on his laptop.

“No, Jenna just told him she’s having a friend over and she wants him to meet them. I mean, me. The friend is me.”

“Yeah, I got that.”

He obsesses over what he’s going to wear, settling on a heather gray t-shirt and black skinny jeans that he had just washed, setting them aside from the clothes he’s going to put away. And then, it’s the next day. It’s cold enough to wear a hoodie, but he really doesn’t want to cover his mark up, so he decides not to wear one. He’s going to be driving over there anyway. He politely asks Jenna if he should bring anything over, and Jenna tells him that food is always a good way to get Josh motivated, so he stops at Taco Bell on his way there.

He lets out a nervous breath as he parks, grabs the tacos, and makes his way up the stairs to Josh’s apartment. He hesitates before he knocks but smiles anyways when Jenna opens the door a moment later.

“Hey.” He greets with a wave and a gesture to the bag he’s holding. “I brought tacos.”

“Hey! Awesome, Josh’s favorite,” she winks, like they had planned on Tyler bringing tacos, but he really just guessed at what Josh would like. He’s sure that they really were soulmates after all, if their marks didn’t prove that already.

She moves to the side to let Tyler in. He kicks off his shoes, and steps in further, seeing Josh on the couch looking… small? He’s huddled up in an oversized hoodie and ripped jeans, one hand covered by his sweatshirt sleeve and the other propping his phone against his knees. He looks up, face vulnerable and curious for a second, before realizing who it was in front of him, and his expression quickly turns sour.

Josh begins to say something, but looks over at Jenna at the last minute, and decides better of it. She must have given him a look, because his mouth snaps shut, and a thin smile appears instead. “Tyler,” he acknowledges him.

“Josh,” Tyler nods back, slightly suspicious, but brings the tacos over to him anyways. Josh looks… terrible, to put it lightly. His eyes are dark and dead, looking like he hasn’t slept in days, and his frame is overcome by the giant hoodie he’s wearing. Dark curls are all over the place on top of his head, and he hasn’t shaved in a couple days either, from the looks of his scruff.

“Thanks,” Josh says through gritted teeth as Tyler hands him a couple tacos, and Tyler is instantly on edge. Jenna is a godsend, because before he can jump on Josh and strangle him, Jenna puts his hand on his shoulder and guides him to the kitchen table to put down the rest of the food. Tyler takes a couple tacos for himself, giving Jenna a look that says, _Really? I’m gunna have to put up with that?_ Jenna responds with a calming look of her own and a soft sigh, as if saying, _Sigh, boys._

They sit down at the table to eat, staying in silence for a few moments, before Jenna speaks up. “So, what did you do this past week? You said you’ve been busy?” Tyler tries to pretend like he hasn’t been watching Josh out of the corner of his eye, the other man having shifted on the couch slightly, so he could eat his tacos while he scrolled on his phone.

“Yeah, I’ve, uh, had some recordings to do with a couple bands, so I’ve been in the studio for most of the week,” he says nonchalantly, feeling more than seeing Josh pause halfway through taking a bite out of his taco. Jenna goes on like she didn’t feel Josh’s interest spike either.

“Oh! So, is that what you do for work, then? I forgot to ask last week.” Tyler really didn’t tell her about his job, but it seemed awfully suspicious why Josh was so interested all of the sudden, and why Jenna was smirking at him like that. 

“Yeahh,” he draws out, pausing to take a bite, not bothering to swallow before talking, just placing a hand over his mouth. He looks at Jenna, confused at her smirk still, “I track some instruments for some local bands. Well, fairly local. Some are out west.”

He feels Josh stiffen even more, if that was possible.

“That’s so cool!” Jenna says enthusiastically, before turning towards Josh. “Maybe Josh could play with you some time?”

Tyler turns to Josh in time for him to catch Josh mid-glare. He looks between the two, having a silent conversation, before speaking up hesitantly. “That would be cool?” He says quietly, before clearing his throat and directing towards Josh, “What do you play?”

“Drums,” Josh says, never taking eyes off of Jenna. His jaw clenches for a moment, and Tyler looks over in time to see Jenna look away with a small smile. When he looks back at Josh, he seems more relaxed, and his eyes actually flick over to Tyler’s own before returning to his phone.

“Cool,” is all Tyler says in response, his heart beating a little faster at this newfound information. There’re a couple beats of silence, with Jenna looking over each of the boys in the apartment, before announcing, “I’m going to head outside for a smoke.” She smiles at Tyler and gives Josh a pat on the head on her way out to the balcony. Josh follows her with his eyes, pleadingly, while Tyler locks his gaze on Josh. The sliding glass door closes with a click.

“She doesn’t smoke, does she?” Tyler mumbles, hiding a small smirk.

“Ugh,” is all Josh comments, pouting at being left along with his soulmate. He’s surrounded by taco wrappers, while Tyler has shoved his into the bag. They sit in silence, Josh determined not to say anything, but Tyler steps up instead.

“Look. I know it’s not fair to you for me to try and push… _this_ on you,” he gestures between them. “If it’s really something you really don’t want, then I get it. I can back off. But… I need something, Josh. I need you to at least try. Or else… I don’t know what I will do.” He finishes lamely, looking down at his hands, wishing he could hide in a hoodie like Josh was currently trying to do. Josh rejecting him was hard, but Tyler wasn’t ready to live out his life without a soulmate. Not yet. And not when he had one right in front of him.

Dark thoughts began to swim in his head, and Tyler’s hands began to shake. The next thing he knows, is Josh is there right in front of him, holding his hands to keep them steady. Tyler notices how close he is to shedding tears when he looks up at him. Josh looks uncomfortable, shifting around and looking down at their hands rather than into Tyler’s eyes. He’s warm, where they touch. And it spreads through him and fills him with hope.

“I’m not…” Josh starts, face scrunching up to try and pick his next words carefully, before his face falls with a sigh, forgetting what was on his mind. “Okay.” He says instead, shrugging.

“Okay?” Tyler repeats, biting the inside of his cheek from nervousness.

“Yeah, okay. Just, don’t cry. Jenna won’t speak to me ever again if I make you cry,” he grumbles over his shoulder as he takes his hands back and walks away back towards the dent on the couch surrounded by crinkled paper.

Tyler smiles, and wipes the unshed tears. He laughs a bit at himself, before reassuring Josh, “Okay.” Josh looks him over for a moment, and now it’s Tyler’s turn to feel uncomfortable. But Josh looks away with a small, “Hm,” and is back to his phone before Tyler can say anything.

“So, what do you play?” Josh asks, finally.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I had a breakthrough with Josh last night. A small one, but one nonetheless.” Mark takes a moment to rid his mouth of the snack before he replies this time.
> 
> “What, did you fuck him already?” It was Tyler’s turn to glare.
> 
> “No, we just talked. He’s a drummer.” Tyler shrugs, trying to hide his blush. 
> 
> “Oh. Oh.” Mark smiles. “So, you sucked his dick and ogled at his muscular arms then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! I've been busy with work and then my laptop decided to die, taking half of this chapter with it. Luckily, I got it back along with a new computer to write on! Hope you enjoy <3

They end up talking for hours about music, neither noticing when Jenna slips back into the apartment with a smile on her face a half hour later. Tyler’s surprised to find that they had a lot in common. Both of them were raised in a heavy religious household, discovering an affinity for music at a young age.

They also had their jobs in common, Tyler tracking instruments for artists that need it, and Josh filling in for drummers on tour.

It gets late, and Tyler should be heading home, but Josh is _trying_ , actually trying, and he doesn’t want to end it. However, Josh is beginning to get antsy, moving around on the couch and tugging on his hair, his anxiety spiking for some reason. He keeps looking at the fridge from across the room, and Tyler gets the hint.

“I should, uh, head out, yeah?”

“You don’t have to,” Josh answers, covering his hands with his sweatshirt and looking down at them rested in his lap. Josh hesitates, looking so much smaller than he does in his own home than he did in the bar or in Tyler’s apartment. “Um, you could stay for a drink?”

Tyler bites back a harsh response, annoyed suddenly, but he calms himself. Josh was trying. And this is what he knew how to do, drink and socialize. After watching Josh squirm, looking more and more uncomfortable as the night goes on, Tyler could guess that he has some sort of anxiety issue as well. The least he could do was be patient, and talk to Jenna afterward about what they could do to stop Josh’s drinking habit.

“Nah, man, I don’t, uh, drink.” Tyler says, uncomfortable all of the sudden, too.

Josh stares blankly at him, suddenly still. “If I remember correctly, I met you at a bar, and you spilled beer all over me.”

Tyler shrugs. “Wasn’t for me.”

“Oh.” Josh looks between the fridge and Tyler again, reluctant to make a decision, so Tyler makes one for him.

“It was nice talking to you, Josh.” Tyler says as he gets up off of the couch.

“Yeah, it was… nice.” Josh looks confused and a little disheartened, like this isn’t how he had expected his day to go, but didn’t seem to want Tyler to leave.

Tyler counts that as a win. He would win Josh over with being patient and treat him with the kindness that Josh deserved. 

Josh gets up from the couch too, and Tyler moves towards the door. Josh steps with him, but leaves a good five feet between them. “I’ll see you around?” He looks shy and nervous, and like he wants to be as close as possible to Tyler judging by the way he’s shifting on his feet. Tyler smiles as he opens the door.

“Of course.”

Tyler wakes up the next morning with a text from Jenna displaying on his phone.

_“Tell me EVERYTHING!”_ It reads, and Tyler huffs out a laugh before becoming suddenly worried. Had Josh done something after he left? He scrambles for his phone.

_“Why, is Josh okay?”_ He replies, nervously waiting for an answer. It doesn’t come for a couple of minutes, so Tyler busies himself with getting out of bed. It’s when he’s brushing his teeth that he gets a reply.

_“Yeah, he’s great! Had a couple drinks last night after you left, but he was fine. Happiest I’ve seen him in awhile.”_ Tyler smiles down at his phone, relief and giddiness flowing through him.

_“We just talked.”_ Tyler finishes up getting ready, sitting down at his kitchen table with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon, pondering. Tyler’s glad that Josh is happy, but he knew this wouldn’t be a quick fix. He just needs to be persistent, and be there for Josh when he needs him, gain Josh’s trust so that he feels comfortable with Tyler. Tyler snorts. It sounds like Josh is a wild animal, feral and needing to be tamed.

But Josh looked anything but that last night. Tyler wonders if that’s what he was like before he had been heartbroken. Timid and riddled with anxiety. 

_“Maybe that’s what Josh needs, someone to talk to?”_ Jenna replies. Tyler’s looking at his phone as he shoves a spoonful of peanut butter in his mouth, so he misses the look Mark gives him as he emerges from his room.

“Dude, that’s my peanut butter,” he whines, sitting opposite of Tyler at the table. Tyler barely looks up from his phone as he puts the empty spoon back in the jar and slides it over to Mark. Mark looks at it before he drops his shoulders and sighs, reaching for the jar.

_“I can do that.”_ He sends back, and then puts his phone away to look up at Mark, who now has his own mouthful of peanut butter. Tyler smiles to himself for more than one reason.

“What’s up?” Mark tries to say, but it ends up coming out more like, “Wha uh?”

“Nothing. You’re an idiot.” Tyler laughs, and Mark glares. “I had a breakthrough with Josh last night. A small one, but one nonetheless.” Mark takes a moment to rid his mouth of the snack before he replies this time.

“What, did you fuck him already?” It was Tyler’s turn to glare.

“No, we just talked. He’s a drummer.” Tyler shrugs, trying to hide his blush.

“Oh. _Oh_.” Mark smiles. “So, you sucked his dick and ogled at his muscular arms then.”

Tyler’s face turns a brighter shade of red. “I really hate you sometimes. I should have never told you I had a thing for drummers.” Tyler mumbles to himself, remembering the one time he actually did get drunk with Mark, and ended up telling him detailed stories of his fling with the drummer of some band he couldn’t remember the name of.

The next time he sees Josh is at the grocery store. He’s wearing sunglasses and a beanie, so he almost doesn’t recognize him, but his tattoo sleeve gives him away. It’s two in the afternoon, and Josh looks like he just woke up, but then again, Tyler only got up himself an hour ago. All he needs is milk for his cereal, but instead he finds his soulmate contemplating which frozen pizza to get. Tyler looks in his cart while he still isn’t noticed, and finds a lot of energy drinks and alcohol, along with cereal and frozen dinners.

“Glad to know we have the same diet, minus the booze.” Tyler says while still looking in Josh’s cart. Josh gives a jolt, clutching his heart. It gives Tyler an ounce of satisfaction that he startled the man. “You look like shit.” He says as he gets a better look at Josh. Even with the sunglasses over his eyes he can still see the dark circles under them.

“Thanks,” Josh says slowly as he realizes who’s standing next to him. Tyler flushes, beginning to backtrack and sputter an apology, but Josh stops him. “I know. Jenna tells me all the time when I’m hungover.” He shrugs. Tyler feels bad, so he takes a leap.

“Would you want to go get Taco Bell or something after this? If not that’s cool, just thought I’d ask.” Tyler tries to ask nonchalantly, but he actually is really starting to enjoy time spent with Josh. Tyler shrugs and looks away briefly, before looking back at Josh. Josh looks a little dumbfounded, like he doesn’t get asked to go out often, but that could be just his hangover making things move at a snail’s pace inside his head.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, we can do that.” Josh says after a minute, and Tyler smiles in relief.

“Awesome.”

It’s awkward for a moment as they stand in silence to use the self checkout, but then Josh leads the way out of the store and allows him to go first through the doors when they get to them. It’s about as chivalrous as you can be with automatic sliding doors.

It’s cold enough outside that Tyler isn’t worried about leaving his milk in his car, and they make the quick walk to the Taco Bell in the same parking lot as the grocery store. Josh isn’t wearing a hoodie, just a t-shirt, and Tyler would offer him his if Josh wasn’t too beefy to fit into it. This time, Josh opens the door for Tyler properly, and Tyler enters with a smile.

There’s no one standing at the counter to order but them, so they quickly place their orders and sit down to wait. Josh keeps checking his phone, like he doesn’t know what he should be doing, and Tyler studies Josh from across the table. He put his sunglasses on his shirt collar when he entered, and Tyler hates how worn down and rugged he looks just makes him more attractive. It reminds Tyler that Josh is human, too, despite being a dick every once in awhile.

Josh gets up and gets their food for the both of them, and Tyler wonders why he’s being so nice. “So, what did you do last night?” He starts, taking a bite out of a taco.

Josh shrugs. “I went to the bar and drank a lot. Like I normally do.” Tyler doesn’t miss the way Josh’s jaw clenches or the way he looks to the side out the window.

“You sound… disappointed by that.” Tyler hesitates to say, but he does it anyway. He doesn’t want to make Josh upset, and for a moment, it looks like Josh stiffens and is about to go off on him. But he sighs instead, and shrugs once more. He’s still stiff and won’t look up from his food, suddenly letting out a huff of breath and mutters something under his breath. Tyler blinks, “Uhh?”

“I said, I don’t know why you care. And… I don’t know why I feel obligated to tell you shit.” Josh picked at his food, sounding frustrated, brows pinched and voice strained.

“I… don’t know. I just want you to be happy. Jenna said…” Tyler trailed off, wondering if he should go there.

Josh laughed. “Of course she would mention _him_ to you.”

Tyler didn’t know what to say, so he settled on an apology like he normally does. “I’m sorry. It must be hard.”

“Yeah.” The sit in silence for awhile, both of their trays empty. Josh’s head rests on his hand as he stares out the window, looking utterly exhausted. Tyler can’t help but feel like he has more to say and eventually, he does speak up. “I just… don’t want to get over him. And I don’t want to use you to get over him. You’re a good dude, man. You don’t deserve that.”

“Josh, you don’t deserve it either. Suffering like this. I… may not have known you before this. But, Jenna speaks highly of you, and we both just want to help.” Tyler pauses, and Josh stares at him like he’s grown a new head. “I don’t care that we’re soulmates. That’s not why I want to help. But, I also do care. Because I don’t want my soulmate to be suffering. It’s… uh, complicated, and I don’t understand my feelings about it yet. But, I just know that I want you to be happy. Preferably with me.” Tyler says the last part under his breath, quickly, and he feels himself blush as he can’t make eye contact with Josh.

He can see Josh smile from the corner of his eye, though, and the next thing he knows, Josh’s hand is over his.

“Thank you. For caring.”

They devise a plan to help Josh stop drinking. The bar is a short distance from Josh’s apartment, so they decide that Josh would be better off staying at Tyler’s apartment for the time being. It also helps that Tyler didn’t have any booze in his apartment either. Jenna thinks it’s a good idea. Mark just gives him a glare when Tyler tells him, Josh looking nervous off to the side.

“Fine.” He eventually says after staring both of them down for a good minute. His arms are crossed and he doesn’t look pleased, but he agrees anyways. Tyler gives him a bright smile and turns to give Josh a thumbs up, but Josh is looking at Mark suspiciously, like he doesn’t like his attitude. Before either one of them can say anything, Tyler is pulling Josh out the door with the excuse that he has to get packing.

“That went rather well,” Tyler starts, eyeing Josh at his side who has his hands in his hoodie pockets and is looking down at the ground. He grunts in response. “What’s up?” He tries again, not getting the response he wanted the first time.

Josh is silent for a long time. Tyler is about to sigh and give up when he finally speaks. “What if this doesn’t work out?” He says so quiet that Tyler has to strain his ears and lean in closer to hear him.

“Hey, man. It’ll be fine. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll find another way. There’s like, professionals and shit if it comes to it, right?” He suggests, hoping he’s not offending Josh or bringing up a taboo subject with the guy. But Josh just shrugs and nods, looking a little less worried, so Tyler takes it as a win.

Josh doesn’t have much stuff. He mostly has his drum kits and clothes. Tyler is pretty sure half of his possessions are drum sticks, because he has a shitload of them and keeps finding them in nooks and crannies around Josh’s apartment. His kits can’t really leave his apartment, since they take up too much room and Tyler only has the living room couch for Josh to inhabit, so they settle on an electronic kit that they can sneak into Tyler’s room next to his keyboard and limit Josh to around twelve sets of sticks. Everything else Josh needs fits into a small duffle bag.

Jenna is tearful and smiling as they stand by the doorway of their shared apartment. She mentioned before that she would be glad Josh would be away so she could actually get shit done and clean up around the place, but by the way she hugs Josh goodbye, it seems like she thinks she may never see Josh again.

“I’m so proud of you,” Tyler hears her whisper into Josh’s ear before they break apart, and he feels a little guilty he hears it, standing off to the side as he tries to give them their space. Josh looks exhausted and stressed, and Tyler knows he doesn’t want to leave Jenna or his place, but he admitted to Tyler that a change of scenery would be beneficial in his healing. “You be nice to Tyler, alright?” She jokes, loud enough that Tyler knows their moment is over, and Josh gives her a half smile before he looks over to Tyler.

“Eh, we’ll see.” He jokes back, but Tyler can almost feel Josh’s nerves with how on edge he is. Tyler smiles, because he doesn’t know what else to do, so it comes out tight lipped and forced. Then Josh is moving towards the door, hesitating on his feet for a second, like he isn’t sure if he should be running out or turning back. Tyler follows and they say their final goodbyes to Jenna as she crowds them out the door.

Tyler doesn’t miss the look she gives him before the door closes.

**Author's Note:**

> Please bug me to write and update on tumblr @summerdownturn! Otherwise I forget, oops.


End file.
